It's very hard to sex juveniles. Once they reach sexual maturity, the males will have distinctly larger front legs and their pedipalps look like boxing gloves. You can tell that they are juveniles because their spots are orange. They will turn white when they mature. @egyptiancrow breeds them and should be able to tell you. Another way to tell is to look underneath the spiders and see if you can spot the epigynum. It's a small spot that some say looks like a belly button. It is found only on females. Here are some photos I found online to help you.
No, the females do. The males pedipalps become engorged with sperm when the reach sexual maturity. When they breed they insert their pedipalp into the female's epigynum to deposit the sperm.
She sounds like me! I am very afraid of spiders but a couple weeks ago I found a female bold jumping spider by my front door that I've named Ichabod. We just had a snow storm and I think it was woken up from hibernation. She looked so helpless. She wouldn't survive outside and I knew my husband would squish her if he came across her so I made her an enclosure. I have since bought her a nicer one and made a home for her. Joining this board, researching the species, and observing her has helped me deal with my fears. I'm still afraid to touch her but that works out well for both of us since she is somewhat timid and clearly does not want to be handled. That said, she has never threat posed me. They're harmless little creatures that just want a safe place to live and food to eat. They're also so cute and fun to observe. I really hope your daughter finds a friend of her own soon. It's been a great experience for me and I'm sure it will be for her as well.
females but goodness she looks haggard, she might be on the older side or just been roughed up. check for an epigynum as goryb said, she is probably mature or subadult
How can you tell that she has been roughed up? I'm still learning and want to know what signs to look for.
That's amazing! I think she will be a great spood mama!
she has missing patches of hair, an overall sort of dullness and a few mars on her carapace, which dont tend to happen until they are quite old. her pedipalps especially. it might be the lighting but i somehat doubt it, theres only so much bright light can erase hair from two angles. here is my girl marrionettes pedipalps, and she is by no means young- shes laid 3 egg sacs this past year.
Jumping spiders tend to make their nests up towards the top of their enclosure. Those jars will work great, but I would turn them upside down so that the lid is on the bottom. I had a set up like that and I arranged the decorations so that they rested on the rounded part of the jar. Here are a couple pics of my spider's old enclosure that I made to give you an idea. Or you could just wait and see. My spider prefers to make her nests in her decorations. She loves to make them in the fake plants and flowers I put in there. Yours might do the same with those flowers.
That's very helpful. I see it on the girl in the second pic now that I know what I'm looking for. Your spider is very cute!
. Congratulations on your new friends!
Great looking enclosure, but you could have done with about half as many holes. No big deal lol just to know for the future. Arachnids don't need as much oxygen as us.
actually since it doesnt look like theres the same amount on both sides i think its fine. but yeah if you maybe half it but make it even on both sides i agree
Yeah, I made it on the fly before I did much research. When I first put it together, I had it on it's side. I've learned a lot since I adopted my new friend. I've since bought her a Zilla Micro Enclosure. I did read that spiders can escape through the holes where the door closes, so I put putty over them after I close the door. Seems to be working out well.
